The Price of Betrayal
by Illeana Starbright
Summary: I am District 3, only one of two still standing, and Cato is going to kill me. Tahlia Silicon knew she was going to die the instant her names was drawn in the Reaping. What she didn't know was that a chance alliance first with the Careers and then with a girl called Foxface would allow her to make it this far. She is District 3 and this is her story.
1. Prologue

REVISED; 6/5/13

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**Prologue**

_I'm standing here, alive against all odds to the contrary, shaking like a leaf in a strong wind and gaping soundlessly at the massive blonde brute of a boy standing across from me. The one who plunged from the slick metal surface of the Cornucopia and fell to the mutts. The one who is, impossibly, somehow still alive. The one who is going to bring about my death. Awe mingled with terror slides down my spine in an icy shudder that gets lost in the rest of my shaking._

_Katniss stands between Cato and I, bow in hand and her final arrow aimed at his heart but she's shaking almost more than I am. That's because Peeta, the only boy I could trust in the Career Pack, is screaming on the ground as the mutts tear into him. There's no saving him and we both know it but Katniss, like me, can't stand the sound of his screams. Tears are pouring down her cheeks and I surprised she can even see Cato through the tears. Peeta's screams fade into one long agonized wail and Katniss, almost automatically, pivots, raising the bow and releasing her final arrow and silencing Peeta forever. I'm struck then at the fact that, even though she may not realize it, the Girl on Fire really is in love with Peeta Mellark._

_The arrow strikes true, leaving her weaponless against brutal, bloody Cato, the tribute who has probably killed more in this game than anyone else. The tribute who could snap someone's neck without a second thought. She turns back to face him, swiping tears from her cheeks with the back of a hand, her body language defiant. She does not utter a sound, not a scream of rage nor a final plea for life, when Cato lunges forward. They grapple for a brief moment and then the Girl on Fire goes over the side of the Cornucopia._

_At first all I hear is the smack of her body hitting the ground. The mutts, it seems, are still distracted with Peeta's silent body, probably trying to discover what silenced and ended their fun. Then one turns, noticing Katniss for the first time, and lunges. I let out a little hollow cry and stumble back a step to fall to my knees as Katniss goes down. She doesn't make a sound as she hits the ground and I force myself to watch as bit by bloody bit the Girl on Fire passes on, hopefully to a place where she can be with Peeta again. _

_I force myself to watch each agonizing second because I can't do anything about Cato anyway and because Katniss deserves at least one person in the arena to mourn her passing. Finally I tear my gaze away from what is left of her body, her hand carefully tucked in Peeta's despite the ruin their bodies are, and stand, turning my gaze to Cato. He's still looking down at the mutts huddled in a seething mass around Katniss._

_I press my back against the Cornucopia and hold in a whimper because this is Cato. This is the tribute that's going to be the death of me. Not Katniss who'd shoot straight and have me dead almost before I realized she'd shot but Cato. And Finch was right; he would make me regret I ever betrayed him. He'll make me beg for my death. I am District 3, one of two left standing, and Cato is going to kill me._

_But this is the end of my story. To understand how I got into this mess we have to go back to the beginning. Back to District 3._


	2. Chapter I Reaping

**Chapter I-Reaping**

_I hate this dress_. That thought is all consuming as I glare at my picture shown up on one of the screens. The outfit in question is entirely pink with frothy white lace and too much flounce. It is older than me (my mother belonged in a rich family before she became pregnant out of wedlock with me and was kicked out of the house) and in the old pictures it looks great on my mother. My mother Sania with her long blonde tresses and big blue eyes. I have her blues eyes but plain Jane straight hair that is a night like shade of ebony. Up on the big Reaping screen my picture glares back at me until I am forced to look away from my own picture. Here in District 3, the hub of technology, seeing a screen isn't really a big deal but I hate seeing myself in one.

"Tahlia! Hey Tali!" I turn slightly in the line so I can see my friend Astrid waving at me. Astrid is slightly with white blond hair and a bad ankle that broke when she was little. She limps constantly but is so beautiful and utterly optimistic that most people miss the limp. Astrid and I are sixteen and have only two more years of our names in the Reaping bowls. I wave back at Astrid and manage a smile, just for her. Astrid is my only friend here in District 3. All the other girls think I'm too plain and sour to be friends with and the boys think I'm too sharp and sarcastic to be around. Astrid was the only one who ever bothered to get to know me and she's stuck with me every since.

The Peacekeeper at the head of the line takes a drop of my blood and checks me in. Then I join the other sixteen year old girls who either ignore me or glare at me. Astrid joins me moments later, taking my hand and squeezing it as Sunflower, out district's escort, walks to the microphone. "Happy Hunger Games everyone," she calls but gets no answer. Sunflower's hair falls down to her waist, gold at the top slowly fading to deep green tips. Her eyes are huge and purple. Her lips are painted the same purple and her dress matches her eyes a lips. Sunflower tattoos, the way she became christened Sunflower because we have no idea what her real name is, swirl all around her body.

Sunflower chatters on and on about how wonderful the Capitol is and how President Snow keeps us from ruin before she turns to the fishbowl on her left, the girl's side. "Now to draw our lucky tribute's names. Girls first!" She clicks across the stage in what must be six inch tall heels before reaching a lanky arm into the fishbowl and pulling out a single slip of paper. My mouth is suddenly dry and my heartbeat loud in my ears. Astrid's hand clutches so tightly to mine that I can't feel my fingers. Sunflower clicks back over to the microphone and opens the paper. "Tahlia Silicon."

I suddenly feel sick to my stomach as all the girls around me turn to stare coldly into my eyes. I feel sick to my stomach and my skin is slick with a terrified sweat even though I am freezing. I have to work to pry Astrid's hand away from mine and I wobble up to the stage as if I am the one wearing six inch heels and not Sunflower. Sunflower gives me a minute to get settled and stare blankly in the crowd trying not to cry before she clicks over to the other bowl. A moment later she returns with the second slip of paper. "Ian Micro," she says and a boy of about thirteen stumbles up to join me. "Shake hands," Sunflower chirps and we do before being led by Peacekeepers into the mayor's building.

I am only sitting alone in the room for a minute before my mother bursts in and hugs me so tightly I feel like I'm going to choke. I sob into her shoulder and she cradles me close, crooning in my ear. "My baby, my brave baby. I love you so much. You'll come back to me. I know you will." I am still crying softly when the Peacekeepers pull her away but I manage to stammer out that I love her before the door shuts in her face. I rub the tears off my face before Astrid stumbles into the room with a broken wail.

"You have to come back," she sobs out hysterically as I hug her tight.

"I will," I tell her, squeezing her with all my strength. "I promise." Then they take Astrid away too and I sit alone in the room until I am ushered out by the Peacekeepers and into the view of the cameras that take their time lingering over my tears stained face before allowing my to get on the train.


	3. Chapter II Capitol

Author's Note: Thanks to _JOE_ (Glad you liked it!) and _julesjumper_ (Thanks!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing but my OCs.

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**Chapter II- Capitol**

The train ride to the Capitol is where Ian and I are introduced to our mentors, Beetee and Wiress. Both are older but have friendly smiles and they manage to coax and actual conversation out of Ian and I, looking for strengths and weaknesses. I also find out, from her contribution of course, that Sunflower's real name is Ivory but she likes Sunflower better. I decided to stick with Sunflower because I like it better for her as well. I have nightmares or the arena and people killing me, especially the blonde boy from District 2 who was so eager to volunteer. By the end of our travel on the train I am almost too exhausted to fully register the splendor of the Capitol.

It is like a castle from a fairy tale; beautiful and decadent and elegant all in one that leaves the distinct flavor of excess on your tongue. Ian and I stand at a window and stare blankly out at the crowds cheering and waving. Both of us are shaking and neither one us argues when Beetee and Wiress pull us away from the window and force us to sit down. They manage to convince us to drink some water before we are ushered outside and into the waiting arms of our prep teams.

My prep teams is a trio of tiny woman that come in three shades; banana yellow, sherbet orange, and sky blue. All three of them are the exact same height with their skin dyed their chosen color and their eyes the same violet as Sunflowers. Their lips are pink and plump and they have long blonde hair that falls in wild curls. While they wax and wash every inch of my body I learn that they are triplets. The yellow on is named Trixie, the orange one named Minxie, and the blonde one named Pixie. They are twenty-four and this is their first Hunger Games to work for and everything is just so exciting. Besides don't I know the Quarter Quell is next year and they hope they survive so they can make me look pretty again when I'm a mentor for it. I mostly manage vague nods and it seems to satisfy them.

"There you go," Pixie says finally. She seems to be the ringleader of the triplets along with being the oldest and the only one not in an eye damaging neon shade. "Jaralaine will be able to make something of you now." Then she ushers her sisters out with a cheery wave and I let out a soft sigh of relief. When Jaralaine arrives she is draped in yards of white fabric that looks something like a toga and heels that would put Sunflower's to shame in the height department. Her hair is a reflective bronze color and her eyes are like two gold coins. I can't help but gape at her as she towers over me. She swishes around me, ignoring my stares, and taps her bottom lip for a moment with a pale pink tongue before chewing on it with razor sharp looking teeth.

"I have just the thing," she announces suddenly and I continue to stare as she clicks off. How can she even walk in those shoes? She comes back later with a tight black dress she shoves me in that barely comes to my knees, a shiny metal came that sticks stiffly on my shoulders, an odd metallic headdress, and four inch heels that I wobble in all the way to the chariot. Ian shoots me a sympathetic glance and struggles to help me into the chariot even though I'm taller than he is. The Career tributes from Districts 1 and 2 look back and laugh at us. Their mocking smiles haunt me even after they've turned away.

When the chariot begins to move I almost fall over again and have to grip the shiny silver metal with all my strength to keep from falling out. When the camera's fall on us Ian and I both manage weak, sickly smiles that will win us no support. We're both scared to death. The only time I don't feel like I'm going to be sick is when I see what the tributes from District 12 are wearing. We both gasp. They are dressed all in black and trailed by streams of fire. Their hands are twined together and the crowd is screaming their names. They are amazing, fiery and burning as bright as some sort of angels. In that moment I feel hope; not for Ian and I but for the underdogs in general. Maybe, just this once, someone who wasn't a Career would win. Someone like one of the two from District 12.


	4. Chapter III Training

Author's Note: Thanks to _TheGirlwiththeknife_ (I couldn't make this story as interesting in the arena without her!) for reviewing the last chapter! The Hunger Games and anything you recognize from it does not belong to me.

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**Chapter III-Training**

_I am running. Each breath screams in and out of my chest. My legs burn like they have been set on fire. I stumble and make the fatal mistake. I fall. The blond boy from District 2 is on me in an instant. I scream even though it doesn't matter. No one is going to come save me and I have just wasted the last of my air on a useless scream. His hands are around my throat in an instant, uncompromising, and I thrash weakly and struggle to pull in more air. None comes and black dots race across my vision. Right before everything goes dark I hear a familiar voice calling my name. It's_ Sunflower...

"Tahlia?" I sit upright in bed, gasping. My sheets are tangled tight around me and Sunflower is calling my name from outside the door. I'm still in my bedroom in the Capitol on the third floor. Sunflower is outside the door calling my name. The blond boy from District 2 hasn't killed me yet. I breathe out a soft sigh of relief. It was only a dream. "Tahlia?" Sunflower calls again, rapping lightly on my door.

"Yeah?" I call back, sounding more alert than I probably should.

"Get dressed and then come for breakfast," Sunflower says gently as if she understands why I sound so nervous. "Your training starts in a half an hour." I do as I'm told and manage to choke down some of my food before Sunflower ushers us down to the doors of the massive training room. Most of the others are there besides Districts 5 and 12. Ian and I stand back a little ways away from the group and as far away from the Careers as possible. They cast us and the other nervous tributes sly smirks until the pair from District 12 walk in and the training begins.

The head trainer gives us some instruction before heading up the the aerial platform above us. Ian and I exchange nervous glances before heading to the weapons area. Ian and I get our first lessons with a knife. Ian gives up after fifteen minutes, tired and jumpy from the Careers smirking at us and laughing every time someone makes a mistake. I hang on only because I need to be able to use a weapon to survive. As the trainer carefully corrects my grip the dark haired girl from District 2 mocks me. "Look. She can't even manage to hold the knife properly."

"Be nice Clove," the boy from District 1 says and I can tell his laughing at me behind my back. "It's not her fault her parents didn't care enough to train her." They dissolve into laughter and I glower at the knife, throwing it as hard as I can. As much to my astonishment as well as the Careers it actually sticks close to the center of the target in the second ring out.

"Yes," I say before I can stop myself. "Be nice Clove. It isn't like everyone's parents have enough money to help them cheat." I stiffen the instant the words have left my mouth, suddenly aware that I may have just made a grave mistake. Then a laugh shatters the sudden ominous silence. The blond girl from District 1 is gigglong as if she's just been told the best joke in the world. The boy from 1 starts laughing with her then and the blond boy from 2 laughs at the look on Clove's face. Somehow despite my horrendous luck lately I have managed to make only one enemy today and not four. I know from looking at her face that Clove hates me but in the Hunger Games she's just one out of twenty-four. When Clove stalks away I breath out a silent sigh of relief and go back to the knives.

When I finally reach the point that I can throw a knife accurately toward the center of the target every time two full days have passed. I have one day of training left and I spend it at the edible plants area just hoping that learn enough not to eat something poisonous. Still after three long days of training I don't feel particularly confidant. I can sort of throw knives, I might be able to find edible plants, and I made an enemy out of one of the Careers. Even an optimist would have trouble finding the good in this situation. As I wait for my private session I pace back and forth on the carpeted floor. Ian sits in a chair and tries not to shake.

Ian is called in first and it seems like an eternity before he comes back out, looking pale and shaken but relieved. When it's my turn I step into the vast training hall. It seems larger now that it's empty but I try not to let that intimidate me. I throw a few knives, knowing I'm never going to be as impressive as the girl from 2, before deciding to pick up a spear. I've never thrown a spear in training or even picked one up, not once, so no one is more astonished than I when it hits the target dummy square in the heart. The game makers and I stare at the dead dummy in shock. Finally they come back to themselves and dismiss me. I flee the room before I say something stupid and am quiet up until the point where it's time to see the scores.

The Careers from 1 and 2 score high as expected. Ian gains a four which earns him applause seeing as he hardly knows how to use a knife. I somehow gain a six which gains me cheers from the stylists, prep teams, Ian, our escort, and our mentors. I feel suddenly lighter. Yes Clove hates me but maybe if I survive the blood bath I can throw a spear at her and stick her somewhere so she can't kill me. I just might have a chance. Then the girl from District 12, the girl on fire, scores an eleven and knocks us all out of the water.


	5. Chapter IV Interviews

**Chapter IV-Interviews**

_The sounds of the blood bath echoed on all around me. I can see the dark haired boy from District 1 almost casually throw a spear at someone. The sudden screech of pain and fear tells me he's scored a direct hit. A flash of long golden hair near the Cornucopia lets me know that the blond girl from 1 is also alive. The dark haired girl from District 2 comes at me, her face in a wide smirk as she brandishes one of her precious knives threateningly. I scramble back a few steps only to find my progress stopped by the monstrous boy from District 2. He pins me and I squirm letting out a terrified screech as Clove cackles manically and covers the distance between us in an easy bound. She begins to slice into my skin, slowly taking me apart, and I scream and whimper and wail but over the sound of my agonized cries I can hear the Careers laughing just like they laughed at Clove during the training._

I wake up sobbing and gasping for breath. I lay there staring at the blank white ceiling and take a moment to calm myself. Then Sunflower is at the door calling, "Tahlia?"

"Yes?" I call back, glad that I'm calm again, that I've managed to convince myself that I'm still in the Capitol and alive and that Clove hasn't killed me yet.

"Come out for breakfast," Sunflower says gently. "Then you'll have to go with your prep team to get ready for your interview." Like before I obey simply because it isn't worth the hassle to resist. I manage to choke down a little fruit before my prep team in all their multicolored glory come take me away to make me "beautiful." They chatter on about the most mundane and ridiculous things but it calms me and when they finish cleaning me up I am no longer shaking.

That's when Jaralaine appears in all her tall bronze statuesque appearance carrying the most beautiful dress I have every seen. Tiny silver spaghetti straps hold it up on my shoulders. My torso is covered in an almost boxy top that flows in perfect creases and flounces that stop just at my knee. The entire outfit looks as if it could have been made up of liquid mercury. I can't help but gasp as the silky fabric falls over me and I step into matching silver heels before getting a full look at myself in the mirror. With my naturally tan looking skin and dark hair I look as if I am some sort of angel that has descended down on to earth. Sunflower who has just stepped into the room lets out a little squeal and my prep team right behind her make all the right sounds of delight as they tumble into the room.

"You're beautiful," Sunflower says, beaming at me, and somehow I manage to beam back.

"Thank you," I say to all of them and they all beam and wave at me as Sunflower leads me out the door. My confidence lasts until Sunflower brings me to Ian and leaves us standing in front of a mostly empty hallway. Ian is dressed in black pants and shoes and a silver top the same color as my dress. Even as handsomely decked out as he is, he seems frail and nervous. I slip my arm through his and it takes all my remaining courage to lead us into the hallway.

During the interviews we are brought in the room in a long line in order of district number and sit next to each other in that order. That leaves Ian and I standing in line behind District 2. Clove turns to glare at us and Ian shrinks back, half hiding behind me. I manage to hold my ground until the blond boy that is her district partner turns and smirks at us. Then I shrink back slightly to put some space between me and him. Clove doesn't seem pleased that she doesn't scare me but her district partner does. Too bad for her.

We walk out on stage in the bright lights and it doesn't escape me that Ian is quick to put me between him and the monstrous boy from District 2. I let him but I sit tense on the edge of my seat, almost waiting for him to lash out at me. He ignores me all through the first four interviews (Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, and him) and then they call my name. "Let's welcome Tahlia Silicon from District 3," Caesar says and I stand, walking over to sink down in the edge of the chair. I force a weak smile at the audience but the lights are so bright I can't tell if any of them are smiling back. "So what did you think when your name was called?" Caesar asks and my mind instantly goes off but not in the direction of the question.

While the prep team was making me "beautiful" Sunflower came in and out coaching me on how to behave during the interviews. I assume she did the same thing for Ian. The instant Caesar asks his question though her training flies out the window and the only thing I can think of is that it's ridiculous that his hair is _powder blue_ but at least it's better than _red_. What comes out of my mouth then is almost a surprise to me. "I was shocked. I almost thought it was a dream at first," I said with a shrug and a rueful smile. "Then reality kicked in." That got a few giggles and the smile on my face suddenly felt less forced.

"So do you have any family at home rooting you on through reality?" Caesar chimes in.

"Only my mother," I reply. "And she believes I can make it out of the arena alive in reality and not just in her dreams." I smile at the end of that, the same rueful smile as before.

"And what do you think?" Caesar asks next.

I take a deep breath, knowing then that what I say next will define my attitude toward the beginning of the games tomorrow. I force a winning smile then and say what my mother is hoping I'll say. "I think that I can make it."

"And I think you just might as well," Caesar says as the buzzer goes off signalling it's the end of our time together. "Ladies and Gentlemen give it up for District 3's Tahlia Silicon." There is plenty of clapping and some cheers as I wobble back to my seat and Caesar calls up Ian to take my place. For a moment relief makes my world silent. Then what the boy next to me says next sends chills down my spine.

"Think you can make it District 3?" He's sneering. I can hear it in his voice but I can't make myself look to see if I'm right. "Well you'd better be useful or you won't even make it through the blood bath." Ian has taken his seat and the applause for the boy from District 6 is already going by the time I can force myself to look at the boy from District 2 who, thanks to Caesar's interviews, I now know is named Cato. He isn't looking at me anymore, if he was even looking at me at all. Instead his eyes are focused on the crowd even as Peeta, the boy from District 12, confesses his love for Katniss, the girl who scored an 11 in training and his eyes remain cold and unreadable.

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Author's Note: For any of you that are interested I started a companion fic to this one called A Killer's Honor. I own nothing you recognize from the Hunger Games


	6. Chapter V Arena

Author's Note: Thanks to _Marissa Sings To Mockingjays_ (Claire would have worked too if I would have thought of it at the time) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing from the Hunger Games that you recognize.

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**Chapter V-Arena**

_I can't breathe. I claw at my throat, struggling to loosen the fingers from it, but Cato keeps me pinned, unworried by my frantic thrashing. "I told you that you wouldn't make it past the blood bath," he croons almost gently, his eyes alight with some sick sense of humor just before everything fades to black._

I catapulted out of sleep, gasping for breath and soaked in sweat. The sun was just rising and I let out a soft sigh of relief. That was the third time Cato had killed me during the blood bath that would happen just hours from now. I slipped out of bed and showered in cold water, not caring that I was shivering when I was done. I wanted the sticky feeling of my own panicked sweat gone. I dressed in the most comfortable outfit I could find, knowing I was just going to have to change when I was shipped underneath the arena, and was opening my door just as Sunflower lifted and hand to knock.

"You're awake," she says, giving me a sympathetic smile. "Get some breakfast before the Peacekeepers come take you to the hovercraft." I manage a weak smile and am about to brush past her when she places a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Good luck Tahlia." I am touched when I realize she truly cares about me and about the outcome of this.

"Thank you Sunflower," I say and I mean it. She smiles and squeezes my shoulder reassuringly before clicking off to rouse Ian. I manage to choke down some breakfast and water but Ian only drinks a little. The Peacekeepers take us away to the hovercraft and both Ian and I chose to sit as far away from Districts 1 and 2 as possible. We don't talk. This is the end of whatever truce we had going between each other now. It will just be everyone for themselves now. My stomach does gymnastics as they inject the tracker and I suddenly wish I hadn't eaten anything. The fox faced girl from District 5 who sinks into a seat across from me doesn't look much better. Neither does the crippled boy from 10.

The hovercraft lands and only the Careers stride out at first, smirking at us. The rest of us follow after a moment, trying to hide our panic as Peacekeepers lead us to individual rooms. Jaralaine is waiting in mine and she helps me dress and ushers me on to the platform just as the voice announces the time. "Remember to wait for the gong," she says just before the platform begins to rise. _60. 59. 58. 57. 56. 55. 54. 53. 52. 51. 50._

The first thing I notice as my head begins to enter the arena is the overwhelming green. It's as if someone transplanted a botanical garden into the arena. _49. 48. 47. 46. 45. 44. 43. 42. 41. 40. 39._ The arena is a forest. In the distance just around the shining metal of the Cornucopia, which is the exact same shade of silver as my dress for the interviews, is a crystal clear blue lake. _38. 37. 36. 35. 34. 33. 32. 31. 30. 29. 28._ My first thought is panic. I don't know how to survive in the woods. A nasty voice in the back of my head whispers that Cato is going to kill me in the blood bath so I won't have to worry about forest survival but I push that away. I had a day of survival training. I can make it. _27. 26. 25. 24. 23. 22. 21. 20._ My eyes slide toward the pile of weapons and packs. A shimmery silver bow is on the very top with a quiver of arrows. I momentarily wonder who that is for until I see Katniss, the girl from District 12, focus on them for a moment before her district partner distracts her. My eyes slide farther over to see Clove shooting me sideways glares. When she notices I've caught her glaring her stony expression darkens further. I return her glare with one of my own until she looks away.

_19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11._ My eyes find Cato somehow and he smirks at me, a look that sends chills down my spine. I need to get a pack and get out as soon as possible or he'll make good on his threat and kill me. I just know it. _10. 9. 8._ The nearest pack is bright orange and lying not far from where I'm standing. I cast a quick look at my surrounding tributes. The cripple from 10 is on one side of me. He probably wouldn't run very fast. Next to him is the shifty girl from 5 but there's another pack not far from her. On my other side is the girl from 6 who shouldn't be too much of a problem because she looks as if she's going to be sick. _7. 6. 5._ It's the boy on the other side of the girl from District 6 who worries me. Marvel. The boy who throws a spear into the heart of the target every time because he has pure talent and not dumb luck like me. _4._ I'll have to run fast or he'll kill me before Cato can.

_3. 2. 1._ It's as if the world has gone still waiting for the gong in the longest second I've ever felt in my life. Then it goes off and as I sprint for the pack a sadistic voice in my head decides to speak up. _Let the Hunger Games begin_.


	7. Chapter VI Blood Bath

**Chapter VI- Blood Bath**

I actually make it to the pack. I am just snatching it up when I see Katniss and the boy from 9 struggling to tear a pack from each other. A knife from Clove strikes him in the back and I freeze, momentarily stunned by the sudden death. That turns out to be a mistake, what could possibly be my last one. Marvel has finished with the girl from 6 and yanks me up. I let out a screech of panic and I taste copper in my mouth as I bite down on my tongue to keep from whimpering and begging. That's when Ian comes out of almost nowhere and slams full force into Marvel. The Career stumbles as Ian's full weight hits his side and I manage to squirm free. Ian isn't as lucky as I. Before I can stop him Marvel has snatched up the spear someone had given him to kill the girl from 6. He throws Ian off and stabs my district partner in the throat.

A cry of horror and pain escapes me and I scramble back, almost relieved when the boy from 8 distracts Marvel. I can see Clove finishing off the boy from 7 and the flash of gold hair tells me Glimmer is still alive somewhere. The girl from 4, I think her name is Lyric, is after the girl from 7 and Peeta from District 12 seems to be helping the Careers but I don't see Cato anywhere. I back up a couple steps and he snatches me up from behind. I let out a whimper as he presses the blade of his sword against my throat. "Well which is it District 3?" he croons mockingly in my ear. "Are you useful or are you dead like your worthless district partner?"

The other Careers gather around and I have to resist the twin urges to squirm and shrink back. Clove is still glaring at me, Lyric looks uninterested, Peeta almost sympathetic, Marvel is smirking, and Glimmer seems curious. My mind raced, flying through possibilities before it landed on the one thing that could save me. "The mines," I blurt out.

"What?" Glimmer asks, sounding confused and slightly hopeful.

"I can reactivate them," I stammer.

Glimmer's face lights up with delight. "We could mine the area around our camp and only leave one person to guard our supplies."

"Prove you can do it," Cato snaps, shoving me away from him.

"I need one of the mines," I force out from a suddenly heavy tongue.

"Then get one," Marvel sneers. I send a terrified glance around the group before realizing there was no help coming. I scramble over to one of the platforms we came up on and begin digging. Moments later Peeta joins me and surprisingly Glimmer follows right behind him. A moment later Lyric joins us. We unearth a mine while Clove, Marvel, and Cato count cannon blasts. When we unearth one the others back off, making me feel as if my safety net had suddenly abandoned me.

It took almost an hour messing with unfamiliar colored wires to activate the mine. "It's done," I said finally, standing up and backing nervous away from the mine. "It's armed."

"Let's test it," Marvel called, still smirking as he snatched up a rock. I let out a squeak and scrambled away from the mine. The others take one look at my terrified face and follow. Even Marvel suddenly seems nervous. He backs away until he is standing right in front of them. Then he tosses the rock. I cover my ears and the instant the rock strikes the mine there is a massive explosion. In the silence that follows all I can hear are Glimmer's delighted giggles. Clove actually looks as if she might be impressed if she didn't hate me so much. Cato is grinning like crazy and I shudder because it's the same grin he always has in my dreams when he's killing me.

"Let's move the supplies and mines down to the lake," Lyric suggests.

"Or at least somewhere away from here," Peeta adds. "We don't want to be predictable to our competition. Cato agrees and before I fully comprehend what is going on the monstrous boy out of my nightmares is dragging me off to lay mines around the site of what will be our new camp. I finish just before nightfall and am unsurprised when they leave me alone to guard the camp while they hunt. The night has just arrived in full force when the anthem plays and I look up to see who has died.

Ian is shown first and a choked sob escapes me before I cover my mouth with both hands. The boy from 4 follows Ian and I realize why it seemed odd that Lyric wasn't with her district partner. He was dead already. The boy from 5 follows and then both from 6 and 7. The boy from 8 that Marvel killed. Both from 9. Then the girl from 10. Eleven dead. Eleven out of twenty-four that entered the arena. I suddenly consider myself very lucky to even be alive.


	8. Chapter VII Glimmer

Author's Note: Thanks to _xBildenxSiexLachelnx_ (I'm glad the nightmares fit in. I was a little worried about that part) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games that you recognize

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**Chapter VII- Glimmer**

The Careers gained another kill early the next morning. The cannon was a testament to that. They came back laughing at the "stupid look on the District 8 girl's face" when she had realized the Careers had found her and were going to kill her. My eyelids felt heavy and my eyes like they were full of sand but I had managed to stay awake the entire time they were gone. I had also betrayed them in a small way though they didn't know it. The girl from District 5 had come and I had deliberately turned my back so she could take some of the supplies. It wasn't like the Careers would notice because she was too smart to take too much anyway.

It was Glimmer who separated herself from the others and suggested I sleep. Her exact words were, "You need rest. We're going to sleep anyway and Clove is so hyped up on blood shed that she can stay up in keep guard." She wasn't exactly quiet about it either. My cheeks flushed a brilliant red color while Clove spun around to glare at Glimmer.

"At least I'm not a golden haired slut who can't bring herself to kill anyone," Clove sneered after a moment but I was sure her cheeks were a darker shade of red than mine.

Glimmer flushed a humiliated pink, not an angry red, at Clove's words and somehow I was jumping to her defense before I even thought. "Says the girl who was making eyes at the District 4 boy during training," I snapped, my words whip sharp. It was at that moment, curse my luck, that Marvel and Cato chose to go silent. For a long moment no one moved or even so much as breathed. Clove's face was past red now and was moving on to a horrid shade of furious, humiliated puce. Glimmer's perfect pink mouth had formed a round circle of surprise. In that instant I was sure I was dead. Then the laughter started.

Cato was laughing of all things at the humiliated look on Clove's face. Marvel started snickering then and that was all it took for Clove's anger to switch people. "_You two_!" she shrieked, whirling on them, and suddenly I could breathe again. Lyric started snickering and Clove spun, stomping off toward the supply pile. The others spread out and to my surprise Glimmer came over to me with her sleeping bag.

"Stick with me?" she offered and after a moment I nodded. She took off her coat and folded it before setting it down. Then she unzipped her sleeping bag and spread it over the two of us like a large comforter. That was when the most amazing thing happened. Just as I was slowly drifting off to sleep Glimmer leaned over and whispered two words in my ear. "Thank you." I drifted off with two words that I never thought I would hear again stuck in my head.

Glimmer shook me awake at sunset. "We're going to hunt," she said offering me a smile. I nodded and sat up, stretching before realizing this was the first time since my name had been called in the Reaping that I hadn't dreamed of my death. A full smile manages to stretch across my face when Glimmer comes back for her jacket. I already have it unfolded and hand it to her. She and the others are gone for a few hours before they return at sunrise to rest. Once again Glimmer and I sleep next to each other and I realize that for the first time since the games started I have someone to trust besides poor, doomed Ian. I sleep soundly for the few hours they rest while Cato keeps watch and I do not dream.

When Marvel comes to rouse Glimmer I manage to meet his eyes instead of shrinking away, something I can tell annoys him. Before they leave Glimmer comes over and hugs me. "You and me at the final four," she says. "Deal?" And I feel something warm me inside out and I give Glimmer a genuine smile.

"Deal," I respond and Glimmer beams.

For the first few hours I am calm. Then I see the blaze of fire in the woods, really who can miss it? My stomach plummets. Glimmer, the one girl I can trust out of the Careers, is out there somewhere and if she isn't quick enough or if she gets too close to Clove she'll be dead. I manage to get outside our circle before I am violently sick just a few feet inside our woods. I stumble back into the circle, managing to give the girl from 5 a wane smile as she darts off before I do the unthinkable. I wrap Glimmer's sleeping bag around me and drift off the sleep.

The sun has just begun to rise when the cannon booms out twice. Somehow I know, even before they appear in the sky, that one of the two is Glimmer. This is the Hunger Games and my good luck has just run out.


	9. Chapter VIII Tracker Jackers

Author's Note: So a week from now I will be posting the last chapter of this story. I have it all written it up now but I can't tell you if there will be a sequel or not because that would give things away. Also I have a link leading to Tahlia's interview dress (sorry for not putting it sooner!) on my profile. I own nothing from the Hunger Games that you recognize. Now off to work on A Killer's Honor...

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**Chapter VIII- Tracker Jackers**

Cato comes sprinting out of the woods as if all hell is chasing him. He is followed swiftly by Clove and then Marvel. They all dive into the lake and the golden swarm of tracker jackers buzz above their head like a pack of tiny shimmering devils, diving at them every time they surface for a few moments before they give up and buzz off. Cato is the first one out and storming toward the trees. Clove and Marvel hesitate to follow him, still wary of any tracker jackers that might return. I watch from a safe position beside the pile of supplies that I have been letting the girl from District 5 steal from. Peeta, Glimmer, and Lyric are all gone. Two of them are dead.

It takes a couple minutes for Clove and Marvel to come out of the water. Cato returns just seconds after they have reached dry land. His sword is stained red and dripping with fresh blood. "Lover boy is dead," he sneers.

"Where was the cannon blast?" Clove sneers back.

"You were probably too busy cowering in the water waiting for the big bad bugs to come get you to hear it," Cato snaps. Clove actually has the gall to look hurt after everything she has done to everyone else.

"There wasn't a cannon blast," Marvel says after a moment and Cato sends him a dark look.

"There will be soon," the monstrous boy snarls. "There's no way Lover boy is surviving his wounds. He'll either bleed out or die of blood poisoning." Either one is a nasty way to go but I keep quiet because I don't want to be the next to go by provoking his wrath. My mind is spinning a hundred miles a minute though. The cannon blasts were for Lyric and Glimmer then. Killed by tracker jackers. I feel suddenly sick. That means Peeta betrayed the Careers, probably for Katniss who he claimed to love. Any of the Careers that wouldn't kill me are gone now and I shift from foot to foot nervously, wondering if I should run. That's when Marvel focuses on me.

"So can we kill District 3 now?" he asks and though he's a bit wobbly on his feet from being stung by tracker jackers but he's smirking. Clove scrambles toward me a little too quickly and almost falls, her expression eager.

"Please," she pleads like a puppy dog. A wounded puppy dog since Cato's insulted her. Terror sets in and I know I'm trembling. Now that the others are gone I'm only going to drag the group down. Cato will make good on his earlier threat to kill me if Clove or Marvel doesn't get there first. My muscles tense to run even though I already know it's probably useless. Then what Cato says shocks me into freezing.

"No." His voice is a harsh snap that sends both Marvel and Clove reeling back. It holds none of the crooning or mocking tones he normally uses when he's speaking of killing or threatening. Instead his voice is dead and dark. It makes both them and me freeze. "Not yet." And just like that my fate is sealed.

The sun sets almost slowly. Clove who has always held the most animosity towards me is the first to succumb to the tracker jacker poison. She lays on the ground moaning and I can't find it in me to muster any sympathy. She would kill me in an instant if I were in her place. My mercy is letting her live. Marvel has been shooting me dark glares as often as he can. Cato somehow seems to sense that the instant he turns his back on me Marvel will attack because when I shrink back in the shadows to find a place to rest he doesn't let me.

"You're with me tonight," he snaps, grabbing my arm before I can fully retreat. I glance at Marvel who still has yet to succumb to his stings and when I meet his dark glare I don't protest. He tosses me Glimmer's old sleeping bag and I sink down next to him using it to cover me and using my jacket as a pillow. I drift off to sleep just as Marvel succumbs to the tracker jacker poison and without Glimmer by my side the nightmares return.

_I am running, running so hard that I can't even breathe anymore, but it isn't enough. Glimmer is there in the clearing, eyes as bright as they ever were and hair brilliant gold. She has just turned to smile at me when Marvel's spear sinks into her stomach. I scream her name as the light goes out of her eyes and stumble to her, cradling her head in my hands. Her golden hair fans out across my skin, shimmering near her scalp and stained farther down as the blood gushes out of her. _

_I hold her until she dies and then I look up and see Marvel smirking at me. Clove is close behind him, cackling as if she is mad. "I claim her," she says between snickers. "She's my kill." I scramble to my feet, letting Glimmer's head fall softly to the ground, and bolt. Or at least I try to. Marvel's spear catches me in the leg and I fall pinned to the ground and biting down a wail of pain. Clove looms over me, twirling a dagger in one hand as she smirks down at me. Her lips still twitch with those stupid, sinister giggles._

_When she cuts into me I scream. I cannot help myself. She slices deep into the muscle of my arm as I shriek, cackling like a crow. Then, just as suddenly as she started slicing, she is pulled off me. I cry out as Cato snaps her neck, his massive shadow looming above me. I can still Marvel behind him, or rather his head. His body is mostly hidden by Cato's bulk. He leans over me and I let out a little cry, squeezing my eyes shut tight against the terrifying scene of my death._

I wake up far too warm and completely panicked. Some time during the night Cato succumbed to the tracker jacker venom. His arm is wrapped around my waist, pulling me close, and I can't manage to squirm free. When I try he only mumbles under his breath and his hold on my tightens. I cast a fearful glance back toward Clove and Marvel before I realize two things. First both Marvel and Clove have been stung more times than Cato and are still mumbling as they thrash in the sunlight. Second they would have to rouse Cato to drag me off and kill me even if they did wake. For the time being I am as safe as I can get. I tentatively rest my head against Cato's chest where it was lying previous to my sudden wakefulness and drift off to sleep again.


	10. Chapter IX Foxface

Author's Note: Thanks to _xBildenxSiexLachelnx _(I did notice when I was looking at other ones. I always thought that was a little odd) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing from the Hunger Games that you recognize

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**Chapter IX- Foxface**

Cato is the first to recover from the tracker jacker poison and his hold on me loosens, allowing me to squirm free before he wakes. Clove comes around next, not because she's been stung less than Marvel but because she succumbed to the poison first. Marvel comes around and sunset. None of them leave to hunt tributes. Instead they gather their strength to hunt at first light. Neither Clove nor Marvel acknowledge me with more than a glare and though Cato lets me linger close to him for protection he doesn't acknowledge me in any way. It's like I have suddenly become invisible and I'm loving every minute of it.

When the sun finally rises again they eat and gather their weapons. That's when the smoke rises up. Someone has set a fire with green wood not far from the Career's camp. They immediately gather their weapons and go to investigate. This is the moment where I envy them because they are confidant that they are going to win whatever fight they head into regardless of whether it is a trap or not. I consider who is left that would do such a thing. Not the girl from District 5; she's far too clever to try something like that. Not Peeta either is he is as gravely injured as Cato says. Thresh has been hiding in the tall grass and hasn't been seen since the beginning which counts him out. That lives Rue (the little girl from 11), the boy from District 10 with the bad leg, and Katniss who, as far as I know, is not going to do something that stupid.

As if to prove my deduction right the girl from 5 bounds out to the Career supply pile, offering me a nervous smile. I give her one of my own and then glance toward the smoke again. That's when I see her; just a small shift of a figure in tribute clothing. "Fire Girl?" The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. To my surprise she stands up slowly and it really is Katniss Everdeen from District 12. Both the girl from 5 and I stare.

"Tahlia right?" she asks me and I manage a tentative nod, not sure whether she is going to kill me or talk to me. "The area is mined right?"

"Yes," I say, glancing around me warily. She studies us both and we both look away. Finally she nods, seeming to make up her mind.

"Foxface, Tahlia," she tells us and I blink. Foxface? Is that the girl from 5's real name? I doubt it. "I'm going to use those apples to explode the mines and hopefully destroy the Career's food. You might want to leave."

"It won't work," I tell her in a rush as she knocks an arrow. "I set the mines too well for that." I hesitate as Katniss' face falls. "I could rewire a few quickly and then you could set it off." She nods. Foxface and Katniss help me dig up a few mines and watch as I rewire them to set off every other one, placing them near the supplies. With the Career's supplies gone we might all stand a chance. Then Foxface and I flee into the edge of the woods while Katniss stands a good distance back and shoots. Three arrows is all it takes to blow the supplies sky high.

Katniss vanishes into the shadows of the woods but Foxface pulls me back out into the open. "Look," she says gleefully. "It's all gone." I grin and she grins back just as the stick snaps. Our heads turn and I see Cato staring at us. It suddenly feels like a ball of lead has dropped into my stomach. "Run," Foxface squeals and jerks me after her into the woods.

We sprint and then slow, weaving from tree to tree and always glance behind us. Finally we pause for a moment and I sink to the ground, gasping for breath. When I look up I see that Foxface is already leaving me. "Hey Foxface," I yell. "Wait up!" She turns back to me, giving me a strange look.

"What did you call me?" she asks.

"Foxface," I repeat. "Katniss called you that and I don't know your real name." I pause for a moment. "I think it was a compliment."

She giggles then. "Me too. It means Fire Girl thinks I'm clever." She pauses and then says. "My name is Finch."

"Tahlia," I reply. We study each other for a moment as if unsure what to do. "Do you want to be allies?" I ask finally.

For a moment I think she's going to say no and I'm going to be on my own. Then she smiles widely and says, "Sure." I grin back and she motions for me to follow her. As we slip into the woods I can't keep the grin off my face. I have finally found another person in the Hunger Games that I can trust. My grin falls then as another thought hits me. What if she has the same luck as Glimmer? I quickly shake that thought away. Until today no one had seen Finch since the blood bath besides me. We were going to make it to the final four just fine and if Katniss killed us then, well at least she'd make it quick.


	11. Chapter X Seven

Author's Note: So I'll probably update a second chapter today and screw up my updating schedule because this one is super short. Thanks to _julejumper_ ( Finch is actually movie speculation on what her real name is so I can't take credit for it) for reviewing the last chapter!

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**Chapter X-Seven**

The Careers killed two more the next day. When Finch and I heard the first cannons we thought perhaps they had gone after Thresh. There had been one early in day, when the sun was still rising, that was most likely the crippled boy from 10. Then we guessed they had gone after Thresh as a pack. Surely the District 11 boy was formidable enough to kill one of them before he died. "That leaves seven left," Finch whispered to me as we hunkered down for the night. "Only seven out of twenty-four." I nodded in agreement as the anthem played above us. The first picture to appear was the boy from 1, Marvel. Finch and I gaped for a moment.

"He could throw spears," I said incredulously. "How did Thresh get close enough to kill him?"

"I thought for sure it would be one of the pair from 2," Finch agreed. The second picture was the boy from 10. I could almost hear the Careers torturing him in my mind and I shuddered.

"Hopefully he died fast," I murmured and Finch took my hand in hers, squeezing it comfortingly. The last one was the little girl from 11. I stared, feeling sick. "A child," I whispered. "She was just a child." Finch nodded and when I looked over at her I saw her face was slick with tears. "How cruel do you have to be to murder a child?" I said hoarsely and Finch hugged me while I cried. That night we drifted off to sleep and even though I fought it sleep claimed me. I dreamed.

_Ian was the first to confront me, blood dripping from his throat to cover him in an elegant robe. His eyes were hollow, haunted. He was followed by my mother, still as death and mumbling that I had killed her. Rue followed, dressed in ivory that was stained with a red flower of blood in her middle. Lurking behind her in the shadows was Marvel with his dead eyes and bloodstained spear. Finch faced me next, her skin as red with her hair because it was soaked with blood and her arms outstretched toward me. Glimmer was last, dressed as an angel. She floated down to earth only to be attacked and stabbed to death by the other Careers. She died screaming that I had killed her._

I woke mumbling one thing over and over under my breath. "I killed them. I killed them." I lay there, whispering those damaged words, until Finch woke and covered my mouth with her hand, insisting I was not at fault until I almost believed her and was able to drift off into a restless sleep.


	12. Chapter XI Nightlock

Author's Note: So I decided to go put this up today because the first update was really super short and I felt bad. Thanks to _xBildenxSiexLachelnx_ (She is falling apart and rather quickly too) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games you recognize

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**Chapter XI- Nightlock**

Hindsight is twenty-twenty. It all started with an announcement. There was a rule change. This year _two_ tributes could win regardless of what district they were from provided that they were in or had been in an alliance. Finch and I started at each other. Then we were hugging and laughing hysterically. "We could make it," I said.

"We could make it," Finch agreed and I knew that we were both beaming. Excitement seemed to leave us walking on air even though it had rained the past two nights. We passed two more days and nights full of hope. The Careers, all two that were left, hadn't managed to catch any of the seven of us left so it was mostly peaceful. Then came the next announcement. The feast. Caesar said we all needed something desperately and I believed it. I didn't know what the others needed but Finch and I needed weapons for defense or hunting and some sort of shelter. We both know we will go to the Cornucopia. We begin to plan. "We should hide in the Cornucopia," Finch suggests. "Then we can just grab our bags and run into the woods."

"And if the bow is really Katniss Everdeen's weapon and if Clove really is there we'll both be dead," I retort.

"They won't go after us," Finch protested. "If we get our bags first and bolt no one will want to chase after us because they won't want to risk their own stuff being stolen." After another twenty minutes of arguing I gave in. We were going to wait in the Cornucopia. We arrived early the next morning and crept inside the Cornucopia to wait. We sat in the dark staring at the entrance until a large table with a white table cloth simply rose out of the ground. There were bags on it with the numbers 2, 3, 5, 11, and 12. I glanced at Finch and she nodded.

We were both snatching our bags and running before my brain fully caught up to what I was doing. It began shrieking in terror at me as I flew into the woods. To my surprise no one followed us. Finch was right; they were too worried about someone else stealing their goods to chase after us. We were just laughing with relief when the cannon rang out. Someone had been killed at the Feast. Without another word both of us turned and fled deeper into the forest.

We didn't stop running until we found a new place to settle for the night. The tent in Finch's bag covered us both as it began to rain. Inside my smaller bag there had been a couple packages of dried fruit, some jerky, and two longer knives that cut my fingertips when I tested the tips. The anthem played and we both huddled at the front of the small tent to watch the sky. Clove's face appeared there as it had next to the training scores. "Thresh must have gotten to her," I mumbled and Finch nodded. That meant Cato was going to hunt Thresh. Then there would be only he, Peeta, Katniss, Finch, and I left.

That next morning Finch and I left to "forage." What that implied was that I would hunt for fresh meat and Finch would steal from the other tributes. Neither one of us strayed very far from the other. I had just found a plump rabbit snuffling in a bunch of clover when the cannon boomed. I ran for where I knew Finch was. She was lying on the ground, her lips stained with berry juice. Nightlock. Finch had accidentally taken in poison. I knelt next to her, stroking her hair and letting tears drip down my cheeks. A rustle nearby made me look up into the piercing grey eyes of Katniss Everdeen.


	13. Chapter XII Katniss

Author's Note: Only a few more chapters to go in this story. Thanks to _BreeBree12345_ (In answer to your question/request every day) and _julesjumper_ (hopefully this chapter lives up to whatever expectations you have for it) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games your recognize. Now off to work on A Killer's Honor before you all read this and want to shoot me for not having Cato's view finished

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**Chapter XII- Katniss**

For a moment we stared at each other, eyes locked. A cannon boomed in the distance; probably signalling Thresh's death. Then Katniss licked her lips and spoke. "Was she your ally?"

"Yes," I responded, my voice shaky from tears spilled for Finch's sake.

"I'm sorry," Katniss said. Lurking behind her was Peeta. My eyes slowly drifted from her to him as I stroked Finch's hair.

"So Cato was wrong."

"Pardon me," Peeta said politely, sounding confused.

"He said he killed you," I explained. "Looks like he couldn't manage it." Peeta and Katniss shared a smile so full of love it hurt me stomach. "You two need to win," I added in an almost whisper.

"What do you mean?" Katniss asked, kneeling next to me.

"I can't," I said hoarsely. "And Cato shouldn't. It needs to be you two." When I looked up Katniss' grey eyes were both confused and grateful. Then she stood, offering me a hand.

"Alliance till the end?" she asked. I managed a weak smile before kissing Finch lightly on the head and allowing her to pull me up.

"To the end," I responded. That was when we heard the howls. My fingers tightened around my knife and Katniss reached for an arrow. There was a rustle behind us and then Cato ran, flying by us. Dark shapes on his trail had us all bolting after him for the Cornucopia. I guess someone got tired of waiting for the final showdown. My feet slam across uncomfortable roots, my boots worn thin from all the running I've been doing. My breath comes in shallow gasps. Katniss and I take turns helping encourage Peeta and pull him along because he's still limping.

I run like I've never run before. The mutts behind us bay for our blood as the shimmering silver of the Cornucopia comes into view. We have run most of the day, pausing for brief breaks here and there. In the last few hours I've grown slower, Katniss more irritable, and Peeta's limp has gotten worse. I think we all sigh in relief at the Cornucopia. Cato bursts into the clearing before us and we gather our strength to follow him, half dragging Peeta with us. We scramble up the silver metal of the monstrous decoration just as the mutts below launch themselves again and again into the walls of the Cornucopia.

We all gasp for breath but Cato seems to be recovering more quickly. He turns and launches himself at Katniss when Peeta comes out of nowhere to slam a fist into the District 2 boy's gut. Cato gasps for breath, winded again, and somehow Peeta manages to shove him over. Down, down, down he tumbles to the mutts below. I slowly pull myself to me feet then, trembling slightly as I stand near the tail of the Cornucopia. My eyes meet Katniss' steadily as she knocks one of her two last arrows and reluctantly aims at me. "Make it quick," I tell her, managing a real smile. I'm not sure anyone is more startled when she gives me a rueful smile back.

"I promise," she says and I believe her. I don't close my eyes when she draws the string back to her ear, don't even flinch, and that's when I see him. Cato comes flying almost out of nowhere to slam into her. The arrow goes flying off but the Girl on Fire clings to the bow like it's glued to her hand. Peeta rips Cato off of her but the blond boy retaliates with a knee to the gut followed by a punch in the face. While Peeta is still reeling Cato picks him up and throws him to the mutts below.

I'm standing at the tail of the Cornucopia gaping at the monstrous blond boy who should be dead. His face is marred with what looks like a vicious gash dripping blood everywhere but other than that he seems unharmed. Possibly his gift was some sort of body armor. Terror slides down my spine to join the awe in my stomach, making me feel dizzy and sick. The boy from District 12 who spared my life with the other Careers, who was actually friendly, and who loves Katniss Everdeen more than his own life is shrieking as the mutts tear into him. Katniss stands stiff as a metal rod but she can barely see to aim her last arrow at Cato through her tears and I realize she truly does love him.

Peeta's pained screams turned into a strangled wail that never seems to end and Katniss lets out a mewling, hurt cry before firing her last arrow, not at Cato but at Peeta, putting him out of his misery. She turns to Cato, wiping the tears off her face and lifting her chin, and I feel my heart sing for this brave girl who is probably going to die along with me and all twenty-three other tributes who entered this arena. Cato and Katniss grapple for a few minutes before she is thrown over. She goes to her fate quietly and I can't bring myself to look down at her.

Now it is just me in him. My body trembles and my hand vainly clutches my knife. I back up against the raised metal tail of the Cornucopia, glancing down to see the small black mutt jumping up at me. I am next. Finch was right when she whispered in my ear that I was going to regret betraying the Careers. Cato is going to kill me if he doesn't let the mutts get to me first. The tiny mutt jumps again and a muffled moan escapes my mouth. My heartbeats pounds but I force myself to look up into his blue eyes. "Put down the knife." It isn't quite an order but it isn't a threat either. His face is wavering between irritation and confusion and for a moment I am lost in his blue eyes. He uses that moment to edge closer. "Tahlia?" His voice is so tentative it almost sounds comical. I let out a little squeak in reply when he edges closer still.

"Tahlia put down the knife. It's over."

_Over?_ I question silently, unable to speak as his fingers slip around mine, surprisingly gentle for the tribute who has killed most of the competition. I don't understand what's going on.

"It's over," he says again. "We've won." Suddenly I realize what's going on. _Two _tributes can win the 74th Annual Hunger Games. My fingers loosen on the knife and he eases it away from me. I jump as the cannon for Peeta booms, followed by the one for Katniss. A muffled sob makes it's way out of my throat. "It's okay," he says and because the sentence is so ridiculous and his face looks so hopeless a strangled laugh escapes me. Then the dam breaks loose and I begin to cry. Then Cato is holding me and telling me it's okay as I sob into his jacket in front of all of Panem.


	14. Chapter XIII Recovery

Author's Note: Thanks to _BreeBree12345_ (Glad you did!) and _xBildenxSiexLachelnx_ (Your review made my day yesterday!) for reviewing! I own nothing of the Hunger Games you recognize. Only two more chapters of this story and then there will be a sequel.

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**Chapter XIII- Recovery**

I think I sob for five minutes straight before I manage to pull myself together. By then the mutts are gone and a hovercraft is already filling the sky as we are announced the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games. We stumbled down from the Cornucopia and I pause to glance at Katniss and Peeta. Their hands are linked, even in death, and a gold pin gleams on Katniss' jacket. I carefully unpin it, remembering that she has a little sister. At least now Primrose Everdeen will have something to remember Katniss by. I climbed on one ladder on the hovercraft, Cato the other. We were both frozen and lifted up into the machine where we were split up. Cato was taken by a doctor and I was left alone until we arrived at the Capitol. There waiting for me were Beetee, Wiress, and Sunflower. I threw myself into Sunflower's arms first and she hugged me back tight. "I knew you could do it," she whispered in my ear and then squeezed me tighter. "I'm sorry you had to lose so much though." And I did lose a lot. I lost my friends, I lost my restful nights, but most of all I lost my innocence to the bloodthirsty whims of the Capitol.

Beetee hugged me next. "Nicely done young lady," he said out loud. Then he hugged me again and whispered, "It'll hurt for a while but it will get better." Wiress hugged me last and she didn't say anything, just held me as I clung to her until I was ready to let go. Then I was whisked off to Jaralaine and my triplet prep team who greeted me with squeals of delight. Jaralaine hugged me instead of squealing and mumbled something about me being too thin and needing enhancement.

Sunflower who heard glared at Jaralaine and snapped, "No." That was the end of that. I was cleaned up, given fresh clothes, and then allowed to eat. My portions were being strictly controlled but I was just glad to eat real food and listen to Beetee, Wiress, and Sunflower talk about things besides the games. Soon my eyelids drooped and I was led off to my room by a compassionate Wiress. I sank into bed and instantly drifted off to sleep.

_Cato was strangling me. I screamed but the only ones who heard were Finch and Clove who tackled the red haired girl and began skinning her alive. Marvel was laughing at us both when Glimmer came out of nowhere to tackling him, calling him and monster. His spear tore through her stomach and I screamed._ I woke up screaming and crying. Sunflower rushed into my room and held my hand in hers, stroking the hair out of my face as I cried. Finally I calmed down and she kissed me on the forehead before she left.

_Finch was lifting the nightlock berries to her mouth. "Don't!" I screamed and she stared at me. "They're poisonous!" Her eyes widened with horror and she was about to throw them aside when Clove arrived and shoved them into her mouth. Finch foamed at the mouth and writhed before dying and then Clove moved on to me, hacking away at my limbs with her knives._ This time my wailing woke Beetee who sat with me and held my hand, promising that the dreams would pass eventually. He waited until after I was asleep before leaving.

_Glimmer was standing next to me at the edge of the lake and we were giggling about something. Cato, Clove, and Marvel were still out from the tracker jacker venom and mumbling in their sleep. That was when Thresh came. A looming dark shadow rose above us and he snatched Glimmer by the throat. We both screamed as he forced her head under, drowning her._ I had woken Wiress this time. She sat down without saying a word and pulled her knitting out of the bag she had brought. I drifted off the sleep with the sound of her knitting needles clicking in my ears and finally managed to sleep the rest the night away. The recap was the next evening.


	15. Chapter XIV Recap

Author's Note: So only one more chapter after this one and then on to the next and then on to the sequel (well there will be a end note on the names of people as well but that's all). Also I'm starting another Hunger Games story (majorly AU) called Breaking so it would be great if you'd check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks!

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**Chapter XIV- Recap**

I wouldn't have eaten much breakfast if I weren't so used to eating whenever I could from the Hunger Games. My stomach was fluttering with nerves and even my prep team's chatter couldn't completely put me at ease. Then Jaralaine came in with my dress for the evening. It was completely black dress, and when I slipped it on it fit me like a glove. It hung from one shoulder and was almost entirely covered in sequins from all but the black ribbon on the top down to where it feel just above my knees. "It's a mourning dress," Jaralaine informed me solemnly. "For all those you lost in the arena." I nodded, touched. It didn't erase the horror of the night to come but it would help.

I stood nervously in the wings of the stage, waiting to be called out. Caesar walked by me, patting me on the shoulder and giving me a reassuring smile before walking on stage at the correct signal. "Hello Panem!" he called over the cheers of the crowd. "The 74th Annual Hunger Games is over and boy what a show! Now are you ready to see your victors?" The crowd cheers in affirmative and Caesar beams. I force down bile.

"First from District 2 we have Cato Tiberius," Caesar announced. The crowd cheered as Cato walked into view wearing black slacks and a white button up shirt. I swallowed hard as he grinned and waved at the crowd like nothing during the Hunger Games had bothered him. I can't do that. I'm shaking and my hands are slick with sweat. I suddenly feel dizzy and my mouth is dry. I'm very glad all of a sudden that Jaralaine decided to let me wear flats.

"And from District 3 we have Tahlia Silicon." I manage a weak smile as I walk on the stage and take my seat in the loveseat next to Cato, perching on the edge. My whole body is stiff as the lights go out and the 74th Annual Hunger Games begins. They show the Reapings first and I watch, completely numb, while twenty-two dead people stand on a stage. They move on to training scores and then it's time for the arena. I'm tense and trembling, wanting to be anywhere but here as the gong rings and I see us all run. There is death everywhere on the screen and I taste blood from biting down on my tongue.

My body was poised to bolt when a hand gripped mine. Cato. I froze for a moment, pulse thundering in my ears. My eyes flickered toward him but he was focused on the screen. I turned back to the screen and watched. I watched as Glimmer and Lyric were killed by tracker jakcers. I watched as Cato stabbed Peeta. I watched as Marvel killed Rue and Katniss killed Marvel. I watched Thresh kill Clove, Cato kill Thresh, and Peeta accidentally kill Finch. I watched Cato kill Katniss and Peeta. I watched myself fall apart one more time and saw the hopeless look on Cato's face. And the whole time I never let go of his hand.

I was still clutching it when the lights came up but I loosened my grip, ready to slip it away. His grip on my hand tightened then, keeping mine there. I didn't mind. For the first time since my name had been drawn for the games I actually felt safe. Caesar interviewed us then but he didn't talk to me much and I knew why the instant I looked on the camera. My face was pale and I looked weak and frail as if I was about to fall apart. Cato was more relaxed but even he tensed up at the mention of Clove's death. Then we were free to go and Cato let go of my hand, walking away before I could thank him for giving me a reason not to run.


	16. Chapter XV Return

Author's Note: Last chapter (minus the names thing I'll post in a minute) and this story is done. Then I'll post the first chapter of the sequel (Fatal Attraction). Thanks to _xBildenxSiexLachelnx _(Oh Cato indeed), Guest (you'll have to wait and see), and _AutumnKrystal_ (This is the last chapter of this story) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games you recognize

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**Chapter XV-Return**

The train ride through the districts, the Victory Tour, is just Cato and I and our mentors and escorts. The first stop is District 1, Glimmer's home. I make it to the door and then freeze up. My mentors and Sunflower exchange glances, unsure how to get me out, but Cato takes matters into his own hands, pulling me down and into the open. I am greeted by two tall blonde girls that hug me and introduce themselves as Glimmer's older sisters; Cherish and Crystal. They thank me for befriending Glimmer and for crying for her. I managed to stutter my way through the prewritten speech after Cato by looking at them. They both smile at me through the whole thing even though they are crying for the loss of their sister That night I wake up screaming twice from dreams of Glimmer's awful death.

We skip past Districts 2 and 3 because they will be our last stops. I spend two more nights waking people from my nightmares. At District 4 Cato has to pull me out again and it's a fight to get through the speech even though the people aren't hostile, just resigned. At District 5 I am exhausted because of my nightmares. I think I've woken just about everyone on the train and Cato's mentors, Brutus and Enobaria, are grumbling about me.

Finch also has a sister, a younger one named Sparrow who clings to me like I'm her own sister until I have to go on stage. I stutter through the speech and want to sink into the shadows. That night my nightmares are worse than ever. I wake with someone shaking me roughly. "Wake up!" a voice snaps. My eyes open to see Cato. His tone is irritated but I can't see his expression as he shoves me over and lays down next to me, pulling me over so my head's resting on his chest. I want to protest but I'm too tired to even try to form a sentence. Besides it's comforting to hear someone else's heartbeat and soon I'm drifting off to sleep.

I wake up to hear someone pounding on my door. My head is still on Cato's chest and sunlight is streaming in through the windows. "Are you up yet Tahlia?" Sunflower calls.

"I'm up," I half call, half mumble and hear her sigh of relief. "Sorry I didn't answer right away. I was sleeping."

"It's fine sweetheart," Sunflower replies and clicks away. That's when I elbow Cato lightly in the chest. He lazily opens blue eyes and manages a smile.

"Sleep well _sweetheart_?" he drawls and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine now let go of me before Sunflower comes back and decides to break down the door," I said.

"Who?" he asked lazily.

"Ivory," I replied with a roll of my eyes but he still stared blankly at me. "My escort," I tried. "The one who just about knocked down the door thinking I slit my wrists in the bathroom last night?" I was up a little more now, elbows resting on his chest. His eyes widened when I finished my little mini rant and suddenly I was yanked back down against him.

"Would you do that?" he asked, voice suddenly low and intense, loosing the playful edge it had maintained through our conversation that morning. I thought about that for a moment. Would I really have slit my wrists?

"Yeah," I decided out loud. "The screaming was beginning to annoy me. Now will you _let go_?"

"No." The reply was definite and uncompromising.

"What?" I squeaked.

"Not unless you promise me something."

"What?" I asked again, more warily this time.

"Never ever give in and slit your wrists," he said.

"But-" I began to protest, the nightmares immediately rising to mind.

"No buts," he demanded. "Call me or talk to someone but promise me that you won't do it." I considered that for a moment and then gave in.

"Fine," I said. "I promise." He studied me for a minute and then nodded once, releasing me. He was gone before I fully registered his absence. We make it through District 6 and Cato comes to sleep with me that night. At District 7 he coaxes me out instead of just dragging me. That night I tease him lightly about getting soft and he laughs for the first time since I met him. For the first time since the games I felt like maybe I could heal from what I'd gone through. District 8 and 9 he still had to coax me out but at District 10 I went out ahead of him, laughing later at the replay of his expression. Even Brutus and Enobaria loosened up enough to chuckle about that.

Somehow I missed the implication that maybe Cato and I felt something besides common ground for each other, something we had hidden in the stress of the games. Maybe I missed it because it was true. District 11 greeted us without hostility but they seemed far more comfortable talking to me than Cato, probably because they had seen him kill Thresh. District 12 had us both worried. Cato was stressed because he had killed both their tributes and I was worried about my reception. I think I was surprised as everyone else when I exited the train and Primrose Everdeen was hugging me tight. "If Katniss couldn't be one of the winners then at least you were," she whispered in my ear as I handed her the mockingjay pin. She even had a hug for Cato and she set the tone for everyone else.

It took almost a week to circle back around to District 2 where I would part from Cato. He, Brutus, Enobaria, and Clementine, the escort, would be returning to District 2. Sunflower, Beetee, Wiress, and I would make our way to District 3. I woke early the morning of Cato's homecoming and slid out of his arms. I showered and dressed quickly before making my way to the back of the train to stare out one of the windows. I was so absorbed in the view and trying not to think that I didn't hear him come in. "Tahlia?" I jumped slightly and spun to see Cato standing a few feet away. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I replied. "Just not...uh...thinking." He smiled at that and took a step forward.

"This isn't the end you know," he said. "We'll see each other again." I nodded silently and turned back to the window. That was when he spun me back around. He leaned forward and then hesitated a moment before kissing me. Then he was gone again, leaving me alone to lift a hand to my lips. That day at District 2 I hung back in the shadows until after we left, not sure yet what to think about Cato and the kiss. It was almost a relief to leave but I slept restlessly without Cato beside me that night.

The next morning I paced back and forth until Sunflower dragged me into a chair and began doing my hair, making sure I looked my very best for my homecoming. I barely made it off the train before I was tackled by Astrid. I hugged my best friend tight, actually lifting off her feet for a moment, and she laughed. "I knew you'd come back," she said, holding me tight before pulling back. That was when I saw my frail yet beautiful mother. I ran to her and she pulled me into her arms, laughing and crying, and in that moment I knew I was home.


	17. On Names

**Names**

_Tahlia_, my main character in this story, has a Hebrew name meaning _female lamb_ which is actually rather appropriate when you compare her relative innocence to Cato or just the rest of the Careers in general.

_Ian_, her district partner, also has a Hebrew name meaning _God is gracious_ which could also be considered appropriate for his rather swift death during the blood bath.

_Astrid_, Tahlia's best friend, has a Norse name that means _fair or beautiful_ which is appropriate considering her blond hair in a district where dark hair is more common.

_Pixie_, one of Tahlia's prep team, is named after the tiny mythical creature she seems to resemble.

_Trixie_, one of Tahlia's prep team, is named after Trixie Belden, a young sleuth with her own book series rather like a younger Nancy Drew.

_Minxie_, one of Tahlia's prep team, is named after a werewolf girl in an excellent story called Staked that nikki_says_so has posted on Wattpad

_Jaralaine_, Tahlia's stylist, is named after Queen Jaralaine in the Auralia's Colors series by Jeffery Overstreet

_Finch_, more commonly known as _Foxface_, has a name actually based on movie speculation on what her name is.

_Cherish_, one of Glimmer's older sisters, is named after Cherish who is Promise's daughter in the Cal Leandros series.

_Crystal_, one of Glimmer's older sisters, has a name derived from the Greek word krystallos meaning ice.

_Sparrow_, Finch's younger sister, is named after another girl called Sparrow in a novel named Except the Queen


End file.
